Eighteen years ago, my mom came to stay at my house for a month, to help after my second son was born. During that time, we cooked a lot, and collaborated on some new ideas.

It was dreadfully hot in the San Gabriel Valley where I lived, so one day, while I was looking through recipes in a magazine, I came across a warm-weather salad. It looked promising, so we made it during her visit. It was quite good, and it immediately went into my recipe file.  Throughout the years it has morphed more than a celebrity who marries a plastic surgeon. These days, I think there are only a few of the original ingredients, so I suppose this makes it mine now 😉

This is delicious without any meat in it at all, but if you’d like to add protein, the addition of pinenuts, or chopped hard boiled eggs is a wonderful…